European University Institute Library

The humanist world of Renaissance Florence, Brian Jeffrey Maxson, East Tennessee State University

eng

index present

non fiction

The humanist world of Renaissance Florence

electronic resource

dictionaries

867630965

Brian Jeffrey Maxson, East Tennessee State University

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

This book offers a major contribution for understanding the spread of the humanist movement in Renaissance Florence. Investigating the connections between individuals who were part of the humanist movement, Maxson reconstructs the networks that bound them together. Overturning the problematic categorization of humanists as either professional or amateurs, a distinction based on economics and the production of original works in Latin, he offers a new way of understanding how the humanist movement could incorporate so many who were illiterate in Latin, but who nonetheless were responsible for an intellectual and cultural paradigm shift. The book demonstrates the massive appeal of the humanist movement across socio-economic and political groups and argues that the movement became so successful and widespread because by the 1420s–30s the demands of common rituals began requiring humanist speeches. Over time, humanist learning became more valuable as social capital, which raised the status of the most learned humanists and helped disseminate humanist ideas beyond Florence.--, Provided by publisher

Introduction: a social conception of the humanist movement -- Learned connections and the humanist movement -- Literary and social humanists -- The social origins of the Florentine humanists -- The humanist demands of ritual -- Failure of the literary humanists or literary failure of the civic humanists? -- The rise of the social humanists, 1400-1455 -- Humanism as a means to social status, 1456-1485